Tax classes 3 and 5 are still very popular among married couples. However, from 2030 onwards, this combination will no longer be available. The finance minister has made a promise.
Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) has once again assured married couples that the planned abolition of tax classes 3 and 5 will not have any financial disadvantages for them. “It is 100 percent impossible that couples will be worse off,” Lindner told the newspapers of the Funke Media Group. “In particular, the tax splitting for spouses will not be abolished because that would be a massive tax increase.”
At the end of July, the federal government decided to abolish tax classes 3 and 5, which are popular with married couples. Instead, from 2030, partners will automatically fall into tax class 4 using the so-called factor method. The tax office will then calculate exactly who contributes how much net income. This will distribute the income tax burden more fairly between married couples and life partners. The bottom line, however, is that the tax burden for couples will not change.
Lindner pointed out that there is currently no need for action for couples. “Anyone who wants to can discuss today what a fair division of the tax liability looks like. Tax class 4 with the factor method already exists,” said the finance minister. With tax class 4 with the factor method, the tax burden would be distributed proportionately, and the otherwise often annoying additional payments to the tax office at the end of the year would be eliminated.
The majority of couples choose tax classes 3 and 5
So far, many married couples and life partners still opt for the tax class combination 3 and 5. This is evident from the data from the wage and income tax statistics for the assessment year 2020, as the Federal Statistical Office recently announced.
Accordingly, of the total of around 5.3 million jointly assessed taxpayers with income exclusively from employment, almost 2.1 million couples chose this tax class combination. This corresponds to a share of 39 percent.
According to the information, in another 1.3 million couples (25 percent), only one of the two people earned income and was therefore classified in tax class 3. 1.9 million taxpayers who filed jointly were registered in tax class 4. With a share of 36 percent, this choice was only just behind the combination 3 and 5.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
